Patterns of Vitamin D Deficiency Across Different Body Weight Categories in Iraqi Adults
Safa K. Qasim
Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, College of Pharmacy, University of Basrah, Basra, Iraq.
Hanan H. Ramadhan *
Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, College of Pharmacy, University of Basrah, Basra, Iraq.
Manal A. Ibrahim
Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, College of Pharmacy, University of Basrah, Basra, Iraq.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: A deficiency of Vitamin D is a global public health problem, it has been related to obesity and has a lot of distinct impacts on the body, and it affects a lot of different organ systems. There is limited data regarding regional evidence of vitamin D deficiency in Iraq.
Aim: The goal of this study was to find out how common Vitamin D deficiency is and how it is linked to being overweight or obese in adults who live in the community.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 83 Iraqi volunteers aged over 12 years who attended private diagnostic laboratories from late November to the end of January 2023. We utilised a chemiluminescent immunoassay to find out how much vitamin D was in the serum. We took anthropometric measurements using established procedures and figured out body mass index (BMI) by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared.
Results: A substantial proportion of subjects exhibited either deficient or suboptimal Vitamin D levels. People who were overweight or obese had lower average serum Vitamin D levels than people who were at a healthy weight, but this difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: The results show that there is a weak negative link between Vitamin D levels and excess body weight in this group of Iraqi adults. This shows that further and bigger studies are needed to better understand this relationship.
Keywords: BMI, Iraqi adults, obesity, overweight, vitamin D deficiency